


The Best Mirror Is An Old Friend

by fanzel12



Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Childhood Friends, F/M, Porn With Plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:40:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26113543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanzel12/pseuds/fanzel12
Summary: In an alternate universe, Beth and Rio are classmates and best friends. They work through navigating their feelings as teenagers and as adults.
Relationships: Beth Boland/Rio
Comments: 17
Kudos: 135





	The Best Mirror Is An Old Friend

**Author's Note:**

> I wish I had time to flesh this story out more, but it was fun to get back into writing. I wrote this in a bit of a hurry so any and all mistakes are mine and mine alone. Please, leave a comment and let me know what you think so we can talk about it!

"Christopher! Christopherrrr!" Beth yelled, making her way through her best friend's house towards his bedroom.

"Could you be any louder?" he asked, stepping outside of the door and shutting it behind him.

"We don't have to leave yet. We can hang out in your room until it's time to go."

"Uh, no."

"Why not?" Beth asked, attempting to reach for the bedroom door's knob and getting blocked by her best friend.

"'Cause I said so."

Beth grinned at him.

"Is it because you're looking at dirty magazines like your little brother just told me you were?"

Her best friend's eyes went wide and as much as his tanned skin could blush, it did.

"I'm gonna kill him!"

"Rio, you're gross. Let me in."

He finally pushed the door back open, closing it back after they both stepped inside.

"Were you jacking off?" asked, a look of disgust on her face as she glanced over at the open magazine on Rio's desk.

"No!" Rio shouted, covering his face with both hands.

"Is it safe to sit in this chair?" she asked.

"I wasn't jackin' off, Elizabeth. Stop even thinkin' that."

"Fine," Beth said as she sat at the desk, "I'll leave you alone about it this time. But where'd you even get this?"

"Some senior guys had some, passin' 'em around in detention."

She began flipping through through the pages of the magazine. "Guys are gross. You'll never get a woman like these women."

"Bet you I will one day. My wife is gonna be fine and stacked."

"Yeah, keep dreaming."

A horn blowing outside had them both jerking their heads toward the window. Rio peeped out and quickly grabbed his coat from the arm of the chair Beth was sitting in.

"Is it Ruby?" Beth asked.

"Duh. Come on."

They both ran outside and joined Ruby, who had become their friend group's personal taxi because she was the first of them with a car of her own. And it wasn't a Saturday night if the three of them didn't meet up, go to the skating rink, eat fries and drink slushies, and skate until they had to rush to get themselves home by their 10:30 curfews. So far, they had only been late once and it was because Ruby's car ran out of gas. Thankfully, they didn't get in trouble because their parents were just glad they were safe.

By the time they got to the skating rink, their usual table was taken so they got stuck sitting right beside the restrooms.

"This is literally crap," Ruby said before shoving a few ketchup drenched fries into her mouth.

"Are any of those guys your detention magazine buddies, Rio?"

"Detention magazine buddies? What?" Ruby asked, looking back and forth between Rio and Beth.

Rio only cocked his head at Beth and rolled his eyes.

"What does that mean?"

"Rio got a dirty magazine from some senior guys and I caught him going through it when I got to his house," Beth laughed.

"You didn't catch nothin', Rio argued, "I showed it to you."

"Guys are gross," Ruby said, unknowingly mimicking Beth's earlier statement.

"You two are parrots and it's annoyin'."

They both laughed even though they knew that annoyed Rio even more.

"Really though, sitting here sucks. The second they get up from our table, I'm reclaiming it."

"Hi, Rio," a girl drawled as she skated up to their table.

"Hey, Tabitha." 

Beth and Ruby instantly looked at one another, silently making faces and mocking Rio and their petite, annoying classmate, Tabitha.

"You wanna skate?" she asked Rio, still ignoring his best friends.

"Sure."

Beth and Ruby watched him get up, grab Tabitha's hand, and skate away from their table.

"We're trashing your fries if you leave them," Beth yelled quietly enough to not bring attention to herself.

Rio waved her off and kept going.

"Asshole," she murmured in response.

"That boy is attracted to trouble, I swear."

Beth nodded in agreement but was distracted by someone else. "The boy beside the water fountain keeps looking over here. Do you know him?"

Ruby slowly turned around to sneak a peek in the direction Beth's eyes glanced.

"Oh gosh. I don't really know him, but I ran into him here last week at the water fountain."

"You have a stalker?" Beth joked.

"I guess so. So should I go over there?"

"If you want. Maybe you should so he can stop staring."

"You sure you don't mind? Rio already ditched us, I don't wanna ditch you."

"No, it's fine, I promise. I'm gonna go skate."

"Okay, see you out there," Ruby said, tossing her leftover fries into the trash, grabbing her slushy, and making her way over to her admirer.

As Beth got up from the table, she nearly toppled over when a couple rushed their way out of one of the restrooms.

"Excuse you!" she shouted, grabbing the edge of the table to stable herself.

"Don't be a bitch about it, it was a mistake," the tall guy, who looked quite familiar, said to her.

The girl with him took the opportunity to slip away unnoticed by anyone who could've seen her leaving the restroom with this guy.

"A bitch? Who do you think you are?" Beth argued.

"News flash: my dad owns this place."

"News flash: I don't care in the least."

"I'd have him make sure you never stepped foot in here again if you weren't so cute."

"What?" Beth asked, understandably confused.

"You're cute," he repeated, a goofy grin on his face.

"I know. And if you ever call me a bitch again, you'll regret it."

She trashed she and Rio's things and joined Ruby and her new friend, Stan, on the rink.

Throughout the night, Beth teased Ruby about the mutual crushing she had going on with Stan. After a while, Rio joined them and, like always, showed off his array of skills on wheels.

On the ride home, Rio joined in on the teasing and Ruby threatened to put them both out on the side of the road. Since they had a little time to spare, she dropped them off at Rio's and Rio volunteered to walk Beth home.

"So you're doing this thing with Tabitha again, huh?" Beth asked, breaking the silence.

"What thing?"

"The thing where you guys flirt and get together, then argue and break up, cause a bunch of drama, then get back together to do it all over again. You know, the usual."

"Funny," Rio replied, straight faced.

She looked straight ahead as she responded, "You could do better is all I'm saying."

"I don't need you sayin' anything."

"Fine."

They walked the rest of the way in silence.

"Thanks for walking me, Christopher."

Rio huffed and smirked, shaking his head.

"Anytime, Elizabeth."

The next morning, Beth walked to Rio's house and let herself in since the door was open. She was met by Rio's mom with her usual sweet smile before she was stopped in her tracks.

"Christopher's grounded so no visitors including you, Elizabeth."

"Grounded? What'd he do this time?" Beth joked.

"He had something that he shouldn't have had. He must've forgotten it was on his desk."

It instantly clicked in Beth's head: the magazine.

"He...he was holding that for me."

"What?"

"It was mine. I found it in the locker room at school," Beth lied confidently although Rio's mom had the most disappointed look on her face.

"Why did you keep that trash?"

"I'm sure you remember how hard it was being a 17 year old girl, noticing the differences in you and your friends' bodies, having guys comment on your looks. I just wanted to see what the guys like."

"Well, I hope it taught you to learn to love the body you're in. Those magazine girls are just fantasies. You're real and you're beautiful."

That put a genuine smile on Beth's face despite this conversation stemming from a lie.

"Thank you. So since this was my mess up, can Rio get off of punishment? I could use some help with Annie. She's working on a science project and that's not my thing."

"Since it's you, sure. I'll go and get him."

* * *

By the end of the school year, Ruby and Stan were officially a thing, Rio and Tabitha broke up and made up at least ten times, and Beth turned down the jock that called her a bitch so many times that he finally took no for an answer. Or so she thought.

She closed her locker and there he stood with that stupid, goofy grin on his face.

"You again?" she asked, picking her backpack up from the floor and walking towards her classroom as he followed behind her like a lost puppy.

"My dad is letting me close out the skating rink Friday night so that I can invite all my friends to celebrate the end of the year."

"What's that got to do with me?"

"I'm inviting you. Because of Mr. Shields and his stupid math class, I'll be here again next year. I better make some new friends before then."

She stopped in her tracks and finally gave him eye contact, which he seemed happy about until she spoke.

"Dean, I don't like you. Not as a friend, not as anything," Beth firmly stated.

His grin turn into a frown and he had the saddest eyes Beth had ever seen outside of Rio's when he wanted to get his way.

"Oh. I...I didn't..." he stuttered until his voice trailed off into an incoherent mumble.

"No offense to you," she offered like it would soothe the sting.

"You don't even know me."

"I know enough. I know that our first interaction involved you scurrying out of the restroom with some girl and the first time you ever spoke to me, you called me a bitch. And I've heard things about you."

"I'm not the guy you think I am. If you give me one chance, I can show you."

Just before she could tell him no for what felt like the millionth time, Rio and Tabitha walked by hand in hand. She couldn't do anything but roll her eyes because it was just last night that Rio was ranting about Tabitha to she and Ruby.

"Fine," she said, "I'll come to your thing at the skating rink and hang out with you. But that's it."

The goofy grin reappeared as Dean stood straight and tall.

"Cool. I'll see you there."

Friday night came quicker than she expected and she had no idea what to wear so she called Ruby over to help her. Ruby also volunteered to watch Beth's little sister, Annie, since their mom wasn't home.

"That'd be cute," Ruby said as Beth held up a plain lavender shirt next to a pair of tan shorts.

"No, it's not," Annie butted in, "And this is boring."

"No one asked you to be in here," Beth replied.

"Hey, is it okay if Stan comes over?"

"Yeah, sure. Thank you again for staying here with her."

"No sweat. Enjoy your whatever this is with whatever Dean is to you."

"Nothing. He's nothing to me. I don't even know why I said yes. I think I was just distracted by Rio and Tabitha."

"I'm sure you were," Ruby said under her breath but still loud enough for Beth to hear her.

"Whatever. What about this?" Beth asked, holding up a teal camisole that was covered in light pink floral print.

"Definitely. With those jeans that Annie's rolling all over."

"Get out!" Beth yelled, rolling Annie off of the clothes she had laying on her bed and grabbing the jeans Ruby suggested.

"Perfect," Ruby said, giving Beth a literal thumbs up.

Ruby dropped Beth off as Annie told her that she better not kiss the boy she's meeting because it's disgusting. As they drove off, Dean met her at the entrance, holding the door open for her.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. You look pretty."

"Thank you," she said, willing herself to loosen up some.

"Who was that kid with you and your friend?"

"My little sister, Annie. Ruby's babysitting for me since my mom isn't home tonight."

"I notice you and your friends like to eat before you skate. I'll get you whatever you want."

She got her usual fries and blue raspberry slushy and Dean got the same. They sat at she, Ruby, and Rio's usual table, eating in silence with the occasional schoolmate coming up to say hi.

"Do you hate me so much that you won't even try to have a good time tonight?"

Dean breaking the silence between them was enough to take Beth aback, but it's what he said that really did the trick.

"What?"

"You told me you didn't like me, fine. But you agreed to give me a chance. I don't think you being miserable the whole night is giving me a chance."

"I'm sorry. Half of me wants to give you a chance, but the other half of me is sure this is a waste of time."

"Well, you'll completely wanna give me a chance after you see my moves on the rink."

He did a little dance after he said that and Beth couldn't hold in her laughter.

"I've seen you. You don't have moves," she said through her chuckle.

"Are you kidding me? Come on, let's go. I'll show you!"

Beth couldn't deny that she was starting to have a good time. It was fun to watch Dean try and impress her with what he considered "moves" and it was even more fun when she showed him up by actually having moves.

They skated until the were sore and needed to sit down. They found themselves a dark corner and next to one another, catching their breath from laughing at how Dean barely maneuvered himself to take a seat without his feet sliding from underneath him.

"It's getting late. But this has been really fun."

"Oh yeah? Did I win you over?" he asked.

"Maybe. Something about that goofy smile of yours," Beth said, smiling.

"Well, your smile's beautiful enough for the both of us."

"That's sweet. Thank you."

He nodded his head before moving closer to her. For a second, Beth thought about backing away. She had only ever kissed two boys in her 17 years of living. One was last year and she didn't even know his name. She met him at the first and only party that she, Ruby, and Rio snuck out to go to and while playing Spin the Bottle, he had been chosen to be the receiver of her kiss.

It was kind of short and it was nice until he tried to stick his tongue in her mouth. Then she became disgusted and pulled away.

The second boy she had ever kissed was Rio. He had moved to her neighborhood with his mother and younger brother when he was 6 years old. She saw them on a walk down their street and begged her mom to let her join them. And they had been joined at the hip since that very day.

When they were 10 years old, they went to the playground and sat under the slide like they usually did. It was on this day that they found themselves randomly curious about each other, their lips in particular.

Their lips were stained blue and red from the lollipops they were eating and in their little brains, if they pressed their lips together, they could switch colors. They innocently attempted it, shrugged when they realized that it didn't work, then went on about their day.

Before Beth knew it, Dean's lips were on hers. Her eyes fluttered closed and she returned his kiss. He parted his lips and she did the same. She thought she'd feel uneasy about it, but she didn't. She even accepted his tongue when he offered it although it did weird her out a little bit.

His hand made it's way into her open jean jacket and abruptly and roughly squeezed at her breast, making her gasp and jerk away from him.

"Um, I'm ready to go home now," she said as she looked down at the floor, avoiding eye contact with him.

"I'm sorry. I thought that would be okay."

"I'm ready to go," Beth repeated.

Things were back to the awkward place it was before she warmed up to him. He drove her home and they didn't say a word to each other the entire drive. She got out of the car without a word and let herself inside the house, leaning against the door and letting out a deep breath.

She walked down the hallway and peeked into Annie's room, who was snoring so loudly that had Beth not known better, she'd think it was a full grown adult. She made her way to her own room and Ruby was still awake, reading a book.

"Hey. How did it go?" she asked, wasting no time.

"It was okay. He's not as terrible as I thought he'd be," Beth answered as she plopped down on he bed, laying back like she was exhausted.

"So you had fun? You gonna go out with him again?"

"I don't know about that."

Ruby finally picked up on the vibe Beth was putting down. "Do you not wanna talk about it?"

"Is it that obvious?" Beth asked, closing her eyes and dozing off within a few minutes.

When she woke up, Ruby had left and Annie had climbed into bed next to her. She got dressed in her pajamas and was about to climb into bed herself when she heard a knock on her window.

There was only one person who ever knocked on her window. She pulled her curtain open and saw Rio, jerking his head to the right and walking in the same direction.

Beth went the the front door and let Rio in, both of them taking a seat on the couch.

"Your mom know you're not home?" Beth finally asked.

"Your mom know you were out all night, lettin' some older guy feel you up?" Rio spat.

Beth's eyes went wide with a feeling she couldn't quite pinpoint. The way her stomach dropped was reminiscent of the feeling she got while on a rollercoaster. Then she felt a little angry at the way he said she was letting Dean feel her up. Then a bit of embarrassment was also mixed in there somewhere.

"You don't know what you saw, creep."

"I know that I was sittin' with all his friends in the food court when we saw you two in the corner. He told 'em you'd let him get to second base. They were cheerin' him on the whole time."

"You're a lying asshole," Beth said after a few silent beats.

"I might be a asshole, but I ain't lyin'. I wouldn't lie to you, you know that."

"I don't know anything. You're a totally different person whenever you and Tabitha are on instead of off. And honestly, Ruby and I are tired of it."

It was Rio's turn to be silent then.

"See? I can be an asshole too," Beth added.

"You just jealous 'cause Ruby has Stan and I have Tabitha. You don't have nobody except a dumb-ass who just wants to stick it in you."

Beth jumped to her feet and shouted, "Get out!"

Rio jumped up right after her.

"You don't have to listen to me, but I ain't lyin'."

"I don't care what you think! Get out! Now!"

Rio stared at Beth for a few seconds before storming out and slamming the door behind him.

Her mind was racing and so was her heart, but her body didn't move an inch. Her eyes welled with tears and it didn't take long for one to escape, but she quickly wiped it away and turned to make her way back to her bedroom.

Annie was right there, eyes squinted as if she was trying to stay as asleep as possible.

"Go back to bed, Annie."

"Is Mom home? Is she fighting with somebody?"

"No, you're just dreaming. Let's go back to bed," she whispered, softly nudging Annie down the hallway.

Annie was out like a light once they climbed into bed, but Beth stayed awake for a while. For a couple of hours, she vacillated between anger, sadness, and confusion. She wasn't sure what to feel so she took turns feeling it all in waves until she finally drifted to sleep.

The next night was far from their usual Saturday night. Beth and Ruby went to the skating rink without Rio. Ordered their usual fries and slushies without Rio. And sat at their usual table, also without Rio. It was weird without him at first, but they got used to the void after a couple of months of not all being together.

Beth hadn't talked to Rio or Dean since the night of the end of school celebration and she was perfectly fine with that. Ruby, on the other hand, still hung out with Rio when she could. She just tried her damnedest not to bring it up around Beth although it did slip out sometimes.

"Did you and Stan enjoy the movie last night?" Beth asked, dipping the last of her fries into ketchup.

"I wasn't really that into all that action, but Stan and Rio really--" she stopped abruptly.

"I don't care, Ruby."

"I know that you say you don't, but it doesn't seem like it."

"It's not a big deal. We don't have to have the same friends and people don't stay friends forever. Except for us," Beth smiled.

Ruby returned the smile before making eye contact with Rio, who was coming into the food court area.

"He's here. He hasn't come here in forever."

Beth turned around to see who Ruby was talking about and rolled her eyes the second she spotted Rio.

"I wonder where Little Miss Tabitha is," Beth whined as she turned back around to face Ruby.

"They broke up."

"That won't last long."

"No, I think it will this time. It was a pretty big fight," Ruby said, her eyes widening.

"What was it?"

"He won't let me tell you. The same way you won't let me tell him some things. Just know that they're over. So can you two make up now?"

"He's the reason we're not friends anymore, not her, so no," Beth answered frankly and it looked like it broke Ruby's heart.

"Beth, we start our last year of high school soon. It's supposed to be the three of us together, forever."

"Look, I'm not making you choose between us. But I will if you keep trying to have this conversation."

"You look like an idiot with that ketchup on your mouth," Ruby told Beth, breaking the tension and making them both burst into a loud laughter.

"Hate you," Beth said, grabbing a napkin and wiping her mouth.

"Hate your face."

They grabbed their trash from the table and got up to throw it away. Rio was walking past them and waved, but only Ruby waved back. That basically summed up any interaction that included the three of them for the entirety of their senior year.

* * *

Graduation night wasn't anything like Beth expected it to be when she fantasized about it years ago. Stan accompanied Ruby and her family on a small road trip immediately after graduation so that just left Beth and Annie to celebrate at home. They weren't sure where their mom went, but she was gone for the night.

Beth cooked dinner, Rio's mom and brother brought a homemade chocolate cake by, and they enjoyed it all before watching a movie and getting ready for bed.

After Beth got out of the shower, she grabbed a couple of her mom's wine coolers out of the fridge, turned some music on, and sat on her bed.

Before she was halfway done with the first bottle, there was a knock on her window. And for the first time, she was very confused about it because it had been a really, really long time since she heard that sound. She didn't get up until she heard the knock a second time.

She slid her curtain aside and opened the window.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Can you open the front door?"

It felt like the first time in forever that she had heard Rio's voice speaking to her. It kind of shook her. She didn't know what to say or what to do so she walked to the front door, unlocked it, and walked right back to her room.

She didn't know if he would just be standing on the front porch like an idiot, waiting for her to open the door, or if he'd see it still closed and just leave. He did neither. She heard the front door open and close, then she thought she heard him fumbling around in the kitchen. No more than a minute later, he swaggered into her bedroom and leaned against the wall.

"You just came here to stand around? What do you want?" Beth asked, irritation evident in her voice.

"Ruby said you didn't have plans tonight," Rio answered, shrugging and looking like he wasn't even sure why he was there.

"So she sent you to babysit me?"

Rio only rolled his eyes and sat down on the other side of Beth's bed.

They sat and listened to the music without saying another word to one another and he glanced over at her every time she lifted the wine cooler to her lips and took a sip.

After a few times, she held out the bottle to him and he finally spoke.

"This girly shit," he said, accepting the drink from Beth and gulping down more than she expected him to.

She laughed, "Whoa," as she took the bottle back from him.

"Tastes like juice."

After they finished that one, they started on the second one and finished it in no time.

"You didn't have plans tonight?" Beth asked.

Rio shook his head.

"I'm leavin' to go out west tomorrow. Stay with my pops until I go to school out there."

"Ruby told me. That'll be good for you."

"Yeah, I hope so."

"So you're here to say goodbye?" she asked.

"And sorry. That I made you mad that night, that I said what I said. I just wanted to look out for you. I knew you could do better."

"You never listened to me when I told you the same thing."

"Guess we both too stubborn."

If there was nothing else they ever agreed on, they'd have to agree on that.

"Are you staying the night?" Beth asked as she turned her bedside lamp on and got up to turn her bedroom light off.

"I'll let myself out when you fall asleep." Rio answered, kicking his shoes off and getting comfortable on top of the covers as Beth got under them.

"That won't be long. You excited to leave tomorrow?"

Beth rolled to her side and looked up at Rio, waiting for his answer.

"Yeah, excited to be somewhere new. Would be more excited if one of my best friends didn't spend our whole senior year not talkin' to me though."

"Never gonna get over it, are you?" Beth joked.

"It's still fresh, Elizabeth, so shut up."

"I hope you're nicer to the girls you meet at school, Christopher."

"Oh, I'll be _real_ nice to 'em."

"Don't be gross! Anyway, I still don't believe that Tabitha's out of the picture for good."

Rio looked down at Beth and smirked.

"You just want me to tell you what we fought about. I know you asked Ruby when we first broke up."

"She's dead meat when she gets back."

Rio laughed and laid on his side to get eye to eye with Beth.

"You really wanna know?"

Beth nodded.

"I don't know if I wanna tell you."

"Tell me!" Beth said, jokingly hitting Rio's arm.

"Okay, okay. She boned Dean the last time we were off. Let him be her first."

Beth's eyes went wide, "What? That doofus?"

"Yeah, I tried to get over it and couldn't. Not after the way he treated you like somethin' to play with."

"Thanks for trying to have my back. Even though I got mad. So did you and Tabitha ever...ya know?" Beth asked quietly like there was someone in hearing distance of them.

"Mm-mm." Rio mumbled, shaking his head.

"So you plan on going to college and bedding a bunch of girls with no experience?"

Her joke lightened the mood before she asked another question.

"You ever think you should just get it over with?"

"I don't know. Sometimes. You?"

Beth bit her lip before she broke eye contact and nodded her head.

"But still special in a way, with someone I trust."

"Yeah, me too."

"It's getting late. You can just stay the night if you want," Beth said, scooting over to make room underneath the covers for Rio.

"Yeah, okay."

Rio pulled his shirt and jeans off, then joined Beth in her bed. Facing one another, they drew their bodies closer until they were face to face.

He lifted her chin and pressed soft kisses against her lips. She rested her shaky hand on his side before she parted her lips and slipped her tongue between his. Their kiss deepened over the next few minutes until they paused.

"Number one, you taste like alcohol and chocolate," Beth whispered.

"I snuck a bite of the cake my ma made for you."

"I like it. Number two, you still kiss the same as you did when we were 10 years old," she joked, making Rio chuckle as he moved his lips to her neck.

"Funny. I can't wait to shut you up," he whispered against her skin.

Her mouth hung slightly agape, taken aback. She had never denied to herself that Rio was attractive, but never in a million years did she think he'd ever be laying in bed with her, sucking a hickey onto her skin.

He soothed the spot with his tongue before bringing his mouth back to hers. She knew that he was kissing her harder only to prove her joke wrong, but she basked in it.

Beth felt Rio's hand slowly sliding underneath her t-shirt, but she could tell he was hesitant. She reached down and lifted the hem of her shirt, pulling it completely off after Rio made room.

His eyes fell on her naked breasts, making Beth blush from the chest up.

"Oh my God."

"Is that good or bad?" she asked, nervously.

"Good. Really good. You can tell me to stop, okay?"

"Okay," she replied, but she couldn't fathom wanting him to stop anything he was going to do.

He quickly kissed her lips once more before he moved his mouth down to one of her breasts.

All of this was so new to Beth so she felt herself bracing for every movement he made. She silently let out a breath when she felt his tongue lavishing her nipple with broad licks before sucking it into his mouth.

By the time he finished doing the same thing to her other nipple, Beth felt like she was flooding her panties to the point of embarrassment.

Rio lifted his body and placed his hands on the waist of Beth's pajama bottoms.

"Can I?" he asked.

Beth nodded and assisted Rio by lifting her hips. He tossed her pants to the floor, then removed her panties and tossed them as well.

She instinctively closed her legs and bit her lip as she looked at Rio, trying to read his face.

"You don't have to be nervous," he spoke softly as he came face to face with Beth once again.

Their lips lightly touching, she gasped as he put his hand between her legs and his fingers caressed her slit.

"You ever put your fingers inside yourself?"

"Yeah," Beth answered, nodding.

Rio nodded along with her, kissing her as he easily slid a digit into her.

She immediately noticed the difference between her pleasuring herself and someone else pleasuring her. This was pleasure on a level that she didn't ever want to come down from. She deepened their kiss as he continued to move in and out of her.

After a few minutes, she paused.

"I'm ready," she told him.

"We don't have a rubber."

"Look in my desk drawer."

Confused, Rio threw the covers off of them, walked over to Beth's desk and opened the drawer. There were at least a handful of condoms in there.

"Elizabeth?" Rio said, turning to Beth and smirking.

"They basically threw them at me at the health department," she replied, laughing at the amusement on his face as he grabbed one and walked back towards the bed.

For a second, she forgot that she was completely exposed. She was seconds away from turning red all over until Rio dropped his underwear and stepped out of them.

Beth looked away really quickly because that was her best friend. But then she remembered that he was also about to be her first. She took a good look at him as he put the condom on before he climbed back into bed with her.

"Tell me to stop if you need to, okay?" he asked, his fingers playing in her wetness.

"Okay."

She placed one hand on his back and the other on his shoulder, wincing a little as he slowly entered her. He went further bit by bit as she eased up. When he was fully inside of her, he began to slowly thrust in and out.

It didn't take long for the wincing to turn into bliss on her face. She tried hard to hold back her moans, but they came out breathy and she wondered how it sounded to Rio. She hoped it was music to his ears the way his soft grunting was music to hers.

It wasn't long after Rio quickened the motions of his hips that Beth felt a familiar stir in her belly. Heat and pleasure hit her all at once and she felt like it knocked the wind out of her.

She wasn't in control of what she moaned and if she were honest with herself, she didn't really care what was coming out of her mouth at the moment. Her focus was only on the immense pleasure she felt rocking her body.

Before her body could regulate, she knew that Rio's body was now going through what hers had just experienced. He stilled for a second, then it felt like he was involuntarily attempting to press into her as far as he could.

When both of their bodies had calmed down, Rio reached down and withdrew himself from her. He took the condom off and reached his long arm over to throw it into the small trashcan beside Beth's nightstand.

"Did you like it?" he asked, now laying back beside her.

"You expect me to give sex with you a thumbs up or a thumbs down?" she asked, smiling at him.

"I mean, yeah," he laughed.

"I really liked it."

"Me too. Wanna know somethin'? I think I was more nervous than you. Didn't think I was gonna last a minute inside you," he admitted.

"Well, you were great. Especially for someone more nervous than I was."

They laid there for a few minutes, just listening to the music that they completely forgot was playing.

"Okay, Christopher. You wanna do it again?" Beth asked, nervously laughing.

He laughed, nodding his head.

"Yeah, I do."

* * *

After the night of their graduation, Beth, Ruby, and Rio remained in contact and promised that they'd always be best friends.

To no one's surprise, Ruby and Stan were in it for the long haul.

To everyone's surprise, Beth and Dean were also in it for the long haul, or so they thought.

They both stuck around town after they graduated and ran into each other from time to time. There was usually nothing more than a hello shared between them, but he had that same high school persistence for nearly a year. So she finally gave in, once again, and let him take her out. It was no coincidence that on the same day she agreed to give him another chance, she was frustrated and felt low.

They had outgrown weekends spent at the skating rink by that time so he took her out on an actual date. She had a decent time so she let him take her out again. She kept having a decent time getting her mind off of things, he spoiled her in ways no one had ever offered to spoil her, and he had a bright future ahead him.

He always told her that scouts were coming to his college's football games just to watch him and he promised her that once someone signed him, he'd take care of her for the rest of her life. He lied. Scouts weren't watching him, there would never be a team wanting to sign him, and he took care of her just well enough to get by.

By then, she had grown comfortable with him. So when he proposed to her with no ring at the time, she said yes. His mom and dad paid for everything so it was a nice wedding. As long as she had her sister and best friend there, she was fine, but she'd be lying if she said that Rio not coming hadn't hurt her. After then, they didn't talk anymore.

Rio still lived out west and had eventually moved his mother and brother out there as well. He and Ruby stayed in contact, even met up whenever he visited home to check on his mother's house, but Beth only kept up with him on Facebook.

"Kenny, go get your brother and sisters. It's time to go," Beth said, finishing up lunch boxes for the kids.

By no means did they purposefully procreate, but Beth and Dean now had four children. She secretly hoped that Ruby would've surpassed her but she stopped after two. And Annie was wise enough to stop after getting pregnant in high school.

"What's on tap for you today?" Dean asked, same goofy grin from high school on his face.

"Dean, we sign the papers today."

"Oh, yeah. Yeah."

Just then, the kids came barreling towards them, grabbing their lunch boxes, and running towards the front door.

"Don't be late. You have to pick the kids up right after."

Beth could vividly remember the first time she found out that Dean was cheating. She blamed herself that first time. And even the second time. Then she chose to ignore it, convinced herself that it was in her head. He promised her that he'd never cheat on her again and she made herself believe him.

That afternoon, she thought that signing their divorce papers would be emotional for her. But the saddest part, aside from the pathetic look on Dean's face, was knowing that the next step would be Dean moving out and away from the children.

"You wanna go to lunch or something?" Dean asked her as they walked out of the lawyer's office.

Just then, she was saved by the silent bell. They heard her phone vibrating in her purse and she showed Dean that Ruby was calling. Without even bothering to say goodbye to him, she walked away and answered the call.

"Hey," she answered.

"Hey, are you busy?"

"Not really. Kind of ready to celebrate this divorce honestly."

"Well, I have a celebration partner for you," Ruby said in a voice that Beth knew all too well.

She braced herself for something that she probably didn't want to hear.

"It better be you."

"It's not. Listen, Sara isn't feeling well and I promised Rio that I would help him with something this afternoon."

"He's here?" Beth asked, a little shocked because Ruby usually didn't tell her when he was in town.

"Yeah. His mom isn't doing well and she wanted him to bring some things from the house. He said he didn't wanna do it alone so I said that I'd help."

"But now you can't."

"Now I can't. And I really think that he wouldn't mind if I sent you instead."

"I think he would mind. The man hasn't talked to me in so many years, me showing up is probably the last thing he wants."

"No," Ruby started, "I think the last thing he wants is to pack up his dying mother's old belongings alone."

Beth sighed, mentally wrestling with herself, then deciding what she thought was best.

She hadn't been to their old neighborhood in a long time and a lot had changed. Her childhood home had been bought and renovated, but Rio's remained the same.

When she got out of the car and walked up to the front door, it was like she was transported to high school again. Like she was about to tell Rio that Ruby was on her way to drive them all to the skating rink.

She was brought back to the present when she knocked and he opened the door. He wasn't skinny high school Christopher anymore and she knew that from the photos he posted on Facebook. But seeing him in the flesh was something totally different.

"What are you doin' here?" he asked, his voice deeper than she expected.

"Ruby couldn't come so she asked me to. Don't be mad at her, her daughter has kidney problems."

"I know all about Sara."

"Right," Beth murmured, remembering that Ruby and Rio didn't grow into strangers the way she and Rio had, "I can go."

"You here now," Rio shrugged, walking away from the door to allow Beth to let herself in.

Beth looked around as she followed Rio to his mother's old bedroom.

"It's like stepping back in time," she said.

He didn't acknowledge her.

She sat on the bed next to Rio and sighed. "I'm really sorry to hear that she isn't doing well.

"Thanks."

"Rio, if you don't want me here, I'll go."

"None of this stuff is important if it's been here this long. I don't understand why she wants any of it."

Beth wasn't sure if he was talking to her or himself.

"It's probably important to her. In this moment, at least," she replied, assuming he was talking to her.

"I guess."

"Is there anything I can help with?"

"Nah. I just wanted Ruby here with me, didn't wanna be alone."

"Well, I'm sorry that she sent me instead."

"Yeah."

After that, she left him alone. Let him pack up things in silence and helped him when he passed things to her to pack in a different box.

He was moving as slow as a turtle and it was nightfall before they finished. Beth picked her phone up and looked at the time.

"Tell him I'm sorry for keepin' you so long."

"Oh, no. I was just checking the time. He knows that I'm busy."

"Mm."

"And we're not together anymore," Beth disclosed.

"No?"

"Nope. We're divorced."

He only acknowledged the news with a nod. She helped him carry the boxes to his truck, then waited as he locked the door.

"Rio, I'm sorry. Whatever it was that made you angry enough to stop talking to me all these years, I'm sorry."

"The bullshit he pulled in high school and you married him anyway."

"That was so long ago," Beth argued.

"Back then when you chose to marry him, what he did in high school wasn't that long ago."

"Rio, what did you want me to do? Keep struggling and letting Annie struggle?"

"No, but..." he started but didn't finish.

"But what? But it would've been better to watch you live your happy life across the country while I struggle. Just to keep you as my best friend? If you were really my best friend, you would've come. Or at least explained to me why you didn't come. You would've had a conversation with me."

"No conversation would've made you come to your senses about that asshole. I tried before, remember?"

"Oh, grow up! That was years ago!"

"And listenin' to me years ago would've saved you a whole bunch of pain, huh?" he asked, voice calm as if they were having casual conversation.

She always hated that about him. It wasn't often that he let someone upset him to the point of yelling. His calmness during arguments always pissed her off.

"I also wouldn't have my children if I had listened to you so your argument is falling on deaf ears."

"I didn't mean it like that."

She sighed.

"I know you didn't. But I'm just trying to say that if we had done one thing differently, nothing would be the same. Yeah, maybe things would be great, but maybe they wouldn't. And I wouldn't trade my children for that chance and I know you wouldn't either."

She turned away from him to calm down because if she kept looking at his stupid face, she'd just get angrier.

"I was pissed at you when I got that invitation in the mail. No heads up, no conversation, just a invitation to your fuckin' wedding with the dude I thought we hated."

"I didn't have anyone else," Beth said, exasperated and turning to face to Rio.

"Anybody but him, Elizabeth."

"I made the best decision for me and for my sister. Some grudge you're holding on to won't make me feel bad about that. But if you have all the answers, then tell me what you would've said if I had called you about marrying Dean."

"I don't know," Rio replied, shrugging and looking towards the sky then the ground. Anything to avoid her eyes.

"Then us arguing about it is a waste of time."

"Fine. I would've told you that you deserve better, but you knew that already. Would've told you not to do it, but you stubborn so that wouldn't change your mind. Would've told you to come to me, but you have common sense. You knew I wouldn't have put you before all the shit I was doing in college. I wouldn't have been good for you, but I wanted you."

Although he still hadn't looked directly at her, she stared at him the entire time he spoke.

"I guess I just wanted to know if you wanted me the way I wanted you. That invitation let me know you didn't," he ended as he finally looking at her.

"I didn't know that."

"Didn't matter, did it?"

"Maybe it would have, but you didn't give me the chance to decide."

There had years and years of bad blood between them all because they didn't have a conversation about how they felt. How they really felt. At this point, there was nothing left to lose.

"I wanted you. Then, now. But you were too busy being a dick to care," Beth said, punching Rio's arm.

Rio laughed and rubbed the sore spot.

"You stronger, that's for sure."

"You wanna go get a drink? I know packing those things wasn't easy."

"I just want quiet. Come to the hotel and we'll order up some drinks."

She was tempted to say no because she knew what it could lead to. But instead, she said yes, also because she knew what it could lead to.

When they first got into Rio's suite, they got so caught up in catching up that they forgot all about getting drinks. Beth told Rio all about Kenny, Danny, Emma, and Jane. Rio told Beth all about Marcus. They talked about how he met Marcus' mom and why it didn't work out. They talked about the rollercoaster ride that was Beth and Dean's marriage. They both admitted that they thought about one another quite a bit in the years that they didn't speak.

"Let me ask you somethin'. You ever tell him about graduation night?"

Beth blushed before answering, "No way. He would've flipped out. But I did tell him that I knew about him and Tabitha."

"Maybe they deserved each other. She was a piece of work."

"Yet you picked her over and over and over again."

"You ever gonna let me live that down?" Rio laughed.

"Probably not," Beth started, "But I should probably get going."

"You said your kids aren't home tonight. You been here this long, you might as well stay the night."

"I was hoping to celebrate my divorce tonight."

"I mean, you could leave and celebrate alone. Or you could let me help you celebrate."

Rio stood from his seat and offered his hand to Beth. She made him wait a few seconds before accepting it and letting him lead her to the foot of the king size bed. They both sat down and before she knew it, they were all over each other.

God, it had been a while since she had been this turned on just from making out.

"You don't kiss like a 10 year old anymore."

"I'm a fully grown man now, sweetheart," he responded, pulling his shirt up over his head and showing her just how much he'd grown.

His lean body and muscles made her feel a little insecure because it had just been Dean after Rio.

"Well, I've grown too. I don't have the same body I did back then."

He blatantly checked her out from head to toe, "I see that and I ain't complainin'."

He was back on her in seconds, stripping her nerves away with every piece of clothing he removed from their bodies. She couldn't be nervous; it just felt too right. In fact, she was the opposite. She felt emboldened by the look of pure arousal on his face and feeling his hardness pressed against her thigh.

Their tongues invading each other's mouths, Beth rolled them over and straddled Rio before she reached into his briefs.

They both released breathy moans when she grabbed his cock.

"You happen to randomly have a condom this time too?"

 _Fuck_. She knew it wasn't smart to not use protection, but everything outweighed her common sense at the moment.

"It's only been you and him. And it hasn't been him in a really long time."

He only nodded and went back to kissing her.

Stroking his erection, she whispered against his lips, "I want it in my mouth."

His hips jerked as he grunted in response. They were two adults who had been harboring feelings for one another for so many years and Beth was hesitant to unleash whatever was pinned up. Then she remembered that holding anything in thus far hadn't done them any good.

"Put it my mouth," she continued, moving her body down his until she was kneeling on the floor.

Rio quickly sat up, removing his briefs and letting his erection spring free.

Beth hadn't seen it since they were 18 years old and 18 year old her never thought they'd be here as adults with her begging to blow him.

He wrapped one hand around it and placed one hand on the side of her face, guiding her towards it. She took control then, her delicate fingers circling his cock and her mouth enveloping the tip.

Moaning as she took him deeper, she looked up and watched him watch her. He looked entranced, like he was mesmerized by the sight, by the feeling.

“Ah,” she moaned, opening up her throat as she took him as far as she could.

She slowly pulled back, sucking the head of his dick before letting it fall from her mouth. Licking up his shaft, she took the time to calm her breath before taking him deeply again. She continued this until she felt warmed up enough to hold him in her throat for longer than a second.

Rio groaned his pleasure at the feeling of Beth’s throat clamping around his cock before she resumed sucking him.

“Shit, do that again,” he breathed.

She grinned at how she had him lost in this moment, sounding like he would be willing to beg her.

But he didn’t have to, she was more than willing to give him what he wanted. Taking a breath, she took him inch by inch into her salivating mouth until the head of his cock was in her throat.

She moaned around him, knowing he’d enjoy the vibration. She didn’t anticipate his hips jerking upwards in reaction, but she recovered well. Him going deeper into her throat had her eyes welling with tears.

She slowly pulled him from her mouth, her tongue pressed flat against the underside of his member as she did so.

Beth looked up at him and he was still watching her, but his eyes were a little hooded now. His jaw jutted out as unsteady breathing escaped his lips.

“Unless you want my cum down your throat, shouldn’t do that again,” he warned.

She smiled, stroking him a few more times, then standing to her feet.

Rio immediately reached for her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. She deeply exhaled as he pressed kisses into the soft skin of her belly.

He moved to pull her panties down as he drew close enough to inhale her scent. Before she could even step out of them, he pulled her on top of him.

A little squeal came from her lips before he silenced her with a deep kiss. Their lips moving against one another’s, Beth kicked her panties off and readjusted herself to straddle Rio.

She reached down between them, grabbing his cock and sinking down on it effortlessly thanks to her slickness. She moaned into his mouth as she began to grind her hips back and forth.

“Fuck,” he moaned as he gripped her ass with both hands.

Beth lifted her upper body from Rio’s and his eyes went straight to where they were connected. Watching himself be devoured by her center, he moved one hand from her ass to her covered breast.

“Take this off. I wanna see all of you.”

She hesitated for a second before reaching behind her and unhooking her bra. She pulled it from her body, her breasts dropping into their natural state, and tossed it onto the floor.

Both his hands now massaging her breasts and his fingers occasionally pulling at her hardened nipples, Rio began fucking up into her.

Pleasure had been building up inside her since their lips touched. It had only amplified after sucking his dick and finally having him inside of her again after so long.

For years, this had been a fantasy of hers. Enjoying one another as grown ass people, not just first time fucking high schoolers. And it was as good as she had fantasized.

He felt amazing inside of her and the look of pleasure he had while watching her bounce on his dick turned her on even more.

Beth reached down and started rubbing circles around her clit.

“That feel good, Elizabeth?” he asked, speeding up his thrusts.

She moaned in response, “Oh, yes!”

With her pussy starting to clench around him, she placed both of her hands on his chest to stable herself.

He quickly sat up and flipped them over. As he pounded into her and leaned forward to grab one of her breasts to roughly suck her nipple, she could feel her body quivering.

He was hitting her from a new angle and it pushed her closer to her edge. Her orgasm fast approaching, her moans increased in volume.

“Oh, Rio! Rio! Oh!”, she cried out as the passionate heat of her orgasm consumed her body.

He helped her ride out her pleasure, kissing her softly as her breathing calmed.

Once she regained focus and wherewithal, she slowly moved her hips to signal that she was ready to keep going.

He quickly caught on and eased his cock out of her before sliding the head between her glistening lips. She shivered as they both watched his throbbing erection slide back and forth before he buried himself back inside of her.

“Elizabeth, you feel so good,” he said as they made eye contact.

She had gathered that talking revved him up, which she wouldn’t have guessed but she loved it.

“You ever think of this after you left?”, she asked in hopes to spur him on.

“Fuck yeah. And my dick twitched every time I did.”

She moaned at his confession, "Fuck me harder, Rio."

Groaning in pleasure, he watched her breasts fluidly follow the movement of their bodies as he repeatedly crashed his body into hers, his strokes going from long and slow to short and blunt.

“Oh, fuck! Like that,” she loudly moaned, "Just like that!"

Burying his face in the crook of her neck, he kept his thrusts steady until she came a second time. Her cunt tightly squeezing drove him over the edge within seconds.

He quickly pulled out of her and kneeled between her legs, jacking himself off until ropes of his cum covered Beth's pussy and lower stomach.

He let out a long breath as he softened in his hand. She looked down at the mess he made and smiled up at him.

"Is that okay?", he asked, returning her smile.

"Yeah, it's fine."

"Hold tight."

He climbed off of the bed and disappeared into the bathroom for a few minutes before returning with a warm, wet washcloth.

She laid in a post ecstasy daze as he cleaned her off then laid beside her.

"So?"

"So what?"

"Good, bad?", he asked, laughing.

"You're an idiot. You still need me to give you a thumbs up or thumbs down?"

"Yeah."

She placed her index finger on her chin like she was deep in thought before answering, "Thumbs up, Christopher. A thousand thumbs up."

He nodded.

"You really used to think about us like this?"

"All the time. You want me to be really honest?" he asked.

"Please."

"I spent so many nights in my dorm room, jackin' off thinkin' about fuckin' you raw. Shit, even years after we stopped talkin', I still hoped somethin' would happen that would lead to us gettin' together."

"You wanted to fuck me without a condom. What else?"

"I always thought about fuckin' your mouth. Makin' you scream my name while I hit you from the back. But more than anything, I always wanted to taste your pussy."

Out of everything that had happened this night, that's what figuratively knocked the wind out of Beth.

"We're not done catching up and celebrating, right?" she asked, clearly aroused.

A sly smile on his face, Rio shook his head.

"Nah. So whatever you down to let me do, I wanna do it."

Beth didn't leave Rio's hotel room until the next night. She was sore and she wasn't mad about it. They made a few promises to each other before they parted: that they'd never tell anyone all the things that went down in that room, that they'd never hold back their feelings (whether good or bad) about one another, and that they'd always be best friends...no matter what from now on.

**Author's Note:**

> I really hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to leave a comment and let me know what you think!


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